Downspout cut-off



E. W. VOGT.

DOWNSPOUT CUT-OFF.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE I6. I9Is.

.Patented Jan. 20, 1920.

VUNITED STATES PATENT GEEICE.

ERNST 1JV. VGGT. OF .SILVERTOBL OHIO.

DOWNSPOUT CUT-OFF.

Application led June 16, 1916.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, ERNST W. Voor, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Silverton, in the county of Hamilton and State of hio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Downspout Cut- Ots. of which the following' is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing', forming` part of this specification.

My invention relates to downspouts for conducting rain water in particular, and more specifically to valves for directing' the flow of such water after it lea-ves the spout.

In many cases rain water is used for cisterns, and is the sole supply from which cisterns are filled. The first water from a roof is dirty, as it carries with it the accumulated dirt and dust since the previous rain, and this water` is not desirable for use in a cistern. Accordingly valves are often interposed between the end of a downspout and the pipe leading to the cistern, permitting the water to be turned aside from running into the cistern pipe until the roof is clean.

The operation of these valves is an annoyance, and they are usually turned to letl water into the cistern and allowed to remain in this way, unless some one at the time that a. rain begins goes out and makes the proper adjustments, and at the least they require attention at just the times when it is not desirable to be out of doors.

It is the object of my invention to provide a downspout valve which operates automatically to turn the first quantity of water running down the spout into the drain pipes, and then to automatically shift to turn the balance of the rain into the cistern pipe.

This object and other advantages to be noted I accomplish by that certain construction and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more specifically pointed out and claimed.

In the drawing,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the device. partly broken away.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the saine, also partly broken away.

Fig. 3 is a top plan View thereof.

l is the down-spout pipe running from a roof or the like and carrying rain water. 2 is a cylindrical casing in the upper end of which is mounted a pipe 3 that extends into Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 20, 1920.

Serial No. 104,001.

the casing; and is connected to the doV-Jnspeut at the exterior thereof.

Mounted within the casing on a pin fl that extends across between the two sides thereof. or in any other desired manner is a. revoluble drum 5 of less size than the casing', and having an opening' 6 at the upper side thereof into which protrudes the pipe 3. This drum has an opening 7 in the lower portion thereof for the escape of water flouvi ing` in through the pipe 3, and a partition 8 is mounted in the base of the cylindrical casing. On either side of the partition are yopenings for pipes 9 and 10, leading' to the cistern and to the drain respectively. Accordingly when the drum is revolved around so that the opening 7 is over the pipe 9 then water will flow into the cistern, as the partition will prevent it iiowing into the drain pipe, and vice versa when the drum revolved back so that the opening lies at the other side of the partition.

For maintaining the drum with the opening normally over the drain pipe l()v` a weight ll is mounted on the left side thereof. To swing it to the left for allowing' the cistern to get the water, a chamber 12 is formed at the right side of the drum. Inside the pipe 3 is mounted a narrow flanged plate 13, having its iange extending' upwardly to form a ledge on which water will collect when flowing down the pipe The plate is set in a slanting' position, and opening' at the lowest point thereof is a` small pipe i4- which enters the pipe 3 just above the plate and into the small annular channel formed by its flange. The pipe lll; leads into the chamber 12 and serves to slowly fill it with water.

The channel and chamber are so proportioned that when enough water has escaped into the drain to clean olii the roof 'from whence it cornes, then the weight of the water in the chamber will counterbalance the weight and cause the drum to revolve to its cistern connecting` position.

A small bleed hole l5 formed in the bottoni of the chamber5 and over this bleed hole is placed a cover plate lo having an outlet that is controlled by a small ball valve i7. Thus while the bleed will be so slow that allowance can be easily made for it in filling the chamber, it will allow the chainber to drain when a rain has stopped for any l l) ll length of time by the seepage of Water under the ball. Of course as soon as suilicient Water has seeped out of the chamber, the Weight Will revolve the drum to its normal position.

For locking the drum -in a desired position, an arm 18 is mounted on the top thereof, Which arm extends out through a slot in the casing 2. A ring 19 hinged on the outside of the casing is so positioned that it can be swung over the top of the arm, thereby holding the drum in position to turn water into the drain pipe 10. The arm may be provided with a hole 20, and a. pin 2l may be slidablj/v mounted on the casing in a position to engage the hole, thereby holding the casing up against the Weight in cistern lilling position.

Various modifications could be made in my device without departing from the spirit thereof, and I do not wish to be limited in my claims that follow because oitl a failure to mention such inodiiications.y

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let-v ters Patent, is:

l. A downspout cutolf comprising a casing having an inlet and outlets for Waste and cistern, a drum rotatably mounted in the casing and adapted to direct the inlet Water to either outlet, a counterbalanbe to maintain the drum in normal position to defleet the Water to the Wastel outlet, and a Water container in said drum comprising a chamber arranged peripherally of the drum, and having a bleed hole and a ball for said bleed hole, a narrow ledge-forming member in the inlet, and a pipe leading from said ledge into said Chamber, said pipe being bent in an arc to conform to said peripheral chamber, said Water container adapted when filled to revolve the drum to direct the inlet water to the cistern outlet.

2. A means for controlling the tion' oi' Water in a downspout cutoff comprising a rotary drinn having a chamber disposed along its peripher said chamber being open at the top and closed at the bottom by tvfo interspaced men'ibers having central bleed holes therein, and a ball intermediate said membe s, a ledge-forming member to trap a small quantity of Water comprising a ringshaped member to tit an inlet pipe, having a beveled edge adapted to form a channel in cooperation with such pipe, and a pipe leading from such channel to the chamber, said pipe being disposed in an are to conform to the shape of the drum.

ERNST W. VOGT. 

